Promotions at Ashbury in Dubai and Singapore

Ayden Ong has been appointed General Manager, Singapore at We. Communications.

In the newly created role, Ayden will oversee day-to-day strategic growth and client delivery, while continuing to strengthen the agency’s integrated communications and AI-led capabilities. He will report to Daryl Ho, Managing Director, Singapore.

Ayden most recently served as Vice President, Client Growth, where he drove business development, expanded the agency’s client portfolio and led its digital innovation agenda. He also led AI readiness at the agency and built integrated communications, creative and content-at-scale offerings for clients.

Commenting on the appointment, Daryl said, “We.’s growth has always been driven by our people. Investing in leadership from within lets us move even faster on the capabilities, culture and expertise that define our business. Ayden brings the innovation and operational discipline that will help us continue to evolve and deliver world-class communications alongside our clients.”

Ayden added, “The most successful agencies are those that keep reinventing while staying true to what made them successful in the first place. My focus will be building on that foundation and ensuring that we remain a relevant and trusted partner to clients navigating an increasingly complex digital-first business and communications landscape.” 

Australian financial services company, Insignia Financial, has announced several appointments to its corporate affairs team.

Joe Ogilvie has joined as Senior Media Relations Lead – Consumer in Brisbane. He will oversee consumer media relations for the company’s MLC, Shadforth, and Bridges brands.

In Sydney, Tim Mantiri has been appointed Senior Media Relations Lead – B2B. He will lead media relations for MLC Expand, MLC Asset Management, the B2B side of Master Trust, including employers and advisers, as well as other areas such as technology and cyber.

Joe and Tim will work alongside Insignia Financial’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Rebecca Chivers. The team will report to incoming General Manager, Strategic Communications, Paul Colgan, who will be based in the company’s Sydney office from 28 July.

Francine McMullen will continue in her role as General Manager, Government Affairs and Public Policy, leading Insignia Financial’s government advocacy work. 

Specialist corporate and financial communications consultancy, 3CPR, has launched CLARIO, an AI-powered reporting dashboard.

CLARIO - standing for Clarity and Innovation - was developed in-house by 3CPR’s data scientist. It tracks media coverage outcomes and key programme metrics, allowing clients to access live reporting and download charts, graphs, and data for internal use.

According to the consultancy, unlike broader media monitoring platforms, CLARIO focuses on the work undertaken by 3CPR and the resulting outcomes. It has also enabled the agency to move from half-yearly or annual reporting to an always-on model, reducing the time required to compile reports manually.

3CPR Founding Partner, Paul Cheal, said: “Media outcomes remain a key metric for PR performance, but for too long we have been stuck using tedious, time-consuming spreadsheets and relying on reporting that focuses on hindsight. AI provides a generational opportunity to change our approach - linking our activity to tangible business outcomes and providing real time visibility of strategic opportunities.

“The CLARIO platform offers a near real time view of media outcomes, tailored to each organisation’s goals and KPIs. It provides significant time saving for PR teams and delivers greater transparency to clients.

“We have already received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our clients. In the spirit of lifting our profession as a whole, we are offering a white label version for corporates or agencies who want to revamp how they report on their proactive activities and media campaign outcomes.”